CHENNAI: The State government might soon start collecting fees from students studying in English medium sections in government schools, which until now were free of cost.
Following an audit objection, the Department of School Education is planning to collect Rs 200-500 annually as tuition fees from students studying in English-medium sections of Classes VI to XII.
English medium sections were started in government-funded schools during the 2012-13 academic year parallel to Tamil medium sections. According to government data, nearly 3.32 lakh children have been enrolled in 3,400 English medium sections till date.
In 2008, a government order was passed exempting Tamil medium students from paying tuition and special fees. However, the second part of the same order mandates the school education department to collect tuition fees from their English medium counterparts. But the order was not implemented in spirit across the State.
“There was no clear instruction from the top authorities regarding this. Hence, only a handful of schools in southern Tamil Nadu collected fees,” Samy Sathiamoorthy, president of Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Headmasters Association, told Express.
A recent audit by Accountant General raised an objection to not collecting fees from students as per the order which had resulted in losses worth crores. When estimated, the government should have collected at least Rs 10 crore under this head by now.
This issue was taken up during a meeting chaired by school education minister K A Sengottaiyan on Monday. While school education secretary T Udhyachandran was unavailable for comment, the director of school education R Elangovan said that the 2008-government order will be followed in spirit.
This move comes in the backdrop of Centre not releasing its share of committed funding under various education schemes. Chief Minister K Palanisamy in the recent NITI Aayog meet at New Delhi said that Centre didn't release Rs.1,800 crores under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.
Educationist Prince Gajendra Babu said that collecting fees from Class VI-VIII students is a violation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
"Tamil Nadu which has been a pioneer in universalisation of education should come forward to make education free of cost until higher secondary invariable of the medium of instruction".